Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-12-15

before.
81 know not" he answered: sstyvo hours
ago, as | slept, was l seized and bound by
the watch under me. and bu5 now this
very moment, have / freed myself with
my teeth. fear, [ greatly fear, that we
are betrayed"
His words gave me fresh energy. Catch
ing him by the arm, | staggered, followed
by UmslopogaaS, who reeled after Us like
a drunken man, through the courtvartls.
up the great hall, which was silent rs the
grave, towards the Queens sleeping place.
We reached the first ante-roogn-no
guards; the second, still no guards. GA
surely the thing was donei we were too
late after all-too latel The silence and
solitude of those great chambers was
evil dream. On, right into Nylep5ha'S
chamber we rushed and staggered, sick at
heart, fearing the very worst; we saw there
was light in 1t, ay, and figure bearing
the light. Oh, thank Godl it is the White
Queen herself the Queen unharmedl
There she stands in her night gear, reused
by the clatter of our coming, from her bed.
the heaviness of sleep yet in her eyes, and
a red blush of fear and shame mantling
her lovely breast and cheek
WHO is it?n she cries. "What means
this? Oh, Macumazahn, is it thou? Why
lookest thou so wildly? Thou CONTEST as
one bearing evil tidings- and my lord--oh,
she walled, wringing her white hands.
II left Incubu wounded, but leading the
advance against SoraiS last night at sun
down; therefore Leu thu heart have rest.
Sorais is beaten back all along her INES,
and thy arms prevail -
II knew itr' she cried in triumph ''I
knew that he would win; and they call him
an outlander, and shook their wise heads
when [ gave him the command Last
night at shutdown, sayest thou? and it is
not vet dawn. Surely
Throw a cloak around thee, Nyleptha,"
| broke in, land give us wine to drink: ay,
and call thy maidens quick if thou wouldst
save thysef alive. Nay, stay not"
Thus adjured, she ran and called through
the curtains towards some room beyond:
and then hastily put on her sandals and a
thick cloak, by which time dozen or so
half-dressed women were pouring into the
room
"Follow us and be SILENT" I said to
them, as they gazad with wondering eyes,
clinging one to another. So we went into
the first ante-room-
NOW / said. give Us wine to drink
and food, if We have it, for we are near to
death.''
The room was used as a mess-room for
the officers of the guards, and from q cup
board some iagonS of wine and some cold
flesh were brought forth, and Umslopo-
gaas and [ drank. and felt life flow back
ItlUO OliI N0lilS DIS ln0 2COu GGu Wine went
down
''Hark to me, Nyleptha,' said, as I put
down the empty tankard. ''Hast thou here
among these thy waiting-ladies any two of
discretion?"
"Ay," she said, surely"
Then bid them go out by the side en-
trance to any citizens whom thou canst be-
think thee of as men loyal to thee and pray
them come armed, with all honest folk
that they can gather, to rescue thee from
death. Nay, question not; do as I say,
and quickly. Kara here will let out the
maids"
She turned, and selecting two of the
crowd Of damsels, repeated the words |
had uttered, giving them besides list of
the names of the men to which each should
run.
go swiftly and secretly; go for your very
lives" | added
In another moment they had left with
Kara whom | told to rejoin us at the door
leading from the great courtyard on to the
stairway as soon as he had made fast be-
hind the girls. Thither, too, Umslopogaas
and | made our way, followed by the
Queen and her women. AS we went we
tore off mouthfuls of food and between
them / told her what knew of the danger
which encOmpaSSed her, and how we had
found Kara, and how all the guards and
men-ServantS were gone, and she was
alone with her women in that great place:
spread through the town that our army
had been utterly destroyed, and that Sorais
was marching in triumph on MilOsiS, and
how in consequence thereof all men had
fallen away from her.
Though all this takes some time to tell
we had not been but six or seven minutes
in the palace, and, Notwithstanding that
the golden roof of the temple, being very
lofty, was ablaze with the rays of the ris-
ing sun, it was not yet dawn, nor would
be for another ten minutes. We were in
the couI Gyard now, and here my wound
panied me so that [ had to take Nyleptha's
arm, while Umslopogaas rolled along aft
er Us, eating as he went.
Now we were across it, and had reached
the narrow doorway through the palace
wall that opened on to the mighty stair.
| looked through and stood aghaSt, as
well l might. The door was gone and so
were the outer gates of entirely
gone. They had been taken from their
hinges, and as we afterward found, hurled
from the stairway to the ground two hun
dred feet beneath. There in front of US
was the semi-c1rcular standing-space, about
twice the size of a large oval dining-table,
and the ten curved, black marble steps
leading onto the main stair-and that was
ALL
CHAPTER XXu.-HOW UMSLOPOGAAS HELD
THE STAIR.
We looked one at another
''Thou seest," said, "they have taken
away the door Is there aught with which
we may fill the place? Speak quickly, for
they will be OH US ere the daylight" /
spoke thus, because knew that we must
hold this place or none. there were no
inner doors in the palace. the rooms being
separated one from another by curtains
also knew that il we could by any means
defend this doorway tke murderers could
get in nowhere else, for the palace is abso-
lutely impregnable, that is, since the secret
door by which Sorais had entered or that
memorable night of attempted murder had,
by Nyleptha's order, been closed UP with
masonry.
Il have it" said Nyleptha, who, as us
uai, with her, rose to the emergency in q
wonderful way. con the farther side of
the courtyard are blocks of cut marble
the workmen brought them there for the
bed of the new statue of Incubu, my lord;
let us block the door with them"
jumped at the idea, and having de-
sDatched one of the remaining maidens
down the great stair TO see Il she could 90
tain assistance from the docks below,
where her father, who was a great mer-
chant, employing many men, had his
dwelling place, and set another to watch
through the doorway, we made our way
hack across the cOIrtyard To where the